Dean Capital Management Sells 40,125 Shares of Cohu, Inc. $COHU

Key Points

• Dean Capital Management cut its Cohu stake by 31.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 40,125 shares and ending with 87,199 shares valued at about $2.03 million.
• Insider selling has been notable, with CFO Jeffrey D. Jones and Director James A. Donahue both selling shares on May 22; insiders have sold 90,668 shares worth about $4.25 million over the last three months.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Cohu, with six Buy ratings, one Hold, one Sell, and an average price target of $52.33, even as the stock recently traded up 6% to $69.40.

Dean Capital Management reduced its holdings in shares of Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU - Free Report) by 31.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,199 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 40,125 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management owned about 0.19% of Cohu worth $2,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cohu by 45.0% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cohu in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Cohu in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Cohu by 202.7% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415 shares during the period. Finally, Gen Wealth Partners Inc purchased a new position in Cohu during the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. 94.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COHU has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Cohu in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Cohu from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cohu in a report on Monday, April 20th. B. Riley Financial restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cohu in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Cohu from $60.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeffrey D. Jones sold 13,000 shares of Cohu stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total transaction of $608,920.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 343,792 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,103,217.28. This trade represents a 3.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director James A. Donahue sold 10,257 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.77, for a total value of $479,719.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,578 shares of the company's stock, valued at $167,343.06. The trade was a 74.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 90,668 shares of company stock valued at $4,248,016 in the last three months. 3.05% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Cohu Trading Up 6.0%

Shares of COHU stock opened at $69.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.31 and a current ratio of 6.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a PE ratio of -58.32 and a beta of 1.62. Cohu, Inc. has a 52-week low of $17.71 and a 52-week high of $70.46.

Cohu (NASDAQ:COHU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.02). Cohu had a negative net margin of 11.54% and a negative return on equity of 3.50%. The business had revenue of $125.12 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $122.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.02) earnings per share. Cohu's revenue was up 29.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Cohu, Inc. will post 0.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Cohu

Cohu, Inc is a global provider of semiconductor test and inspection solutions, offering a broad portfolio of products designed to support chip manufacturers, outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) providers, and electronics original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The company's product lineup includes automatic test handlers, wafer probers, test sockets, thermal subassembly systems and burn-in boards, all engineered to optimize throughput, accuracy and reliability in semiconductor production and final test.

Founded in 1947 and headquartered in Poway, California, Cohu has grown through both organic development and targeted acquisitions to become a recognized leader in test handling and interconnect technologies.

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